Non-Aligned Dramatis Personae
The Outback These individuals are known to operate primarily in the shoal region known as the Outback, though they have also been known to range as far as Wild Space and the Badlands. ''Sorceress'' Crew The Sorceress is a modified GTL-1500 Special Courier with modifications including a cloaking device and an automated drone crew overseen by the ship's CompInt, "Bob." It is armed with two Pulse Cannons on the wings and a turret of Pulse Guns above the cockpit. It is a vessel that is rather more long than wide, containing a cargo and shuttle bay, one full cabin with shower and commode, one medium, two sleeping closets that share a single commode, and a pantry and storage area. Space is at a premium aboard the vessel due to its bulky drive systems; the GTL-1500 is one of the fastest designs ever at its hull size and is design optimized for getting in and out fast. Hecate Maxwell Hecate Maxwell, aged 48, is an ESPer trained in using her abilities primarily for mind-sensing, telekinesis, and combat augmentation, though she is also a capable pyrokinetic. An exceptional combatant trained in wielding both energy and metal blades and most types of firearms, Hecate was once part of a mercenary outfit that did security work in and around the Outback region. Disillusioned with the clientele of her employers, she left as soon as her service contract was up and became a lone wolf, a self-described "Ronin" who travels where the solar winds take her and accepts contracts and jobs on her own terms. Bob A Computational Intelligence living in the computer systems of the Sorceress, Bob is a quirky female-identifying CompInt that seems to devote her existence to a never-ending battle of wits with Hecate, her partner. Bob has a gift for sarcasm and is usually the first to point out when a "Bad Idea" is being considered (until it works, at which time it was a "Great Idea" that Bob knew would work all along). She has a penchant for enjoying "Worse Ideas" simply for their novelty and is not immune to the occasional tendency to pull a prank on Hecate or a guest aboard the Sorceress. ''Strahl'' Crew The Strahl is a modified YPA-4700 light transport with several unique custom modifications, including a cloaking device and a multi-phase hyperspace drive that eases travel in shoals, based on what little is known of Collector hyperdrive technology. Its armament consists of one Heavy Plasma Cannon and multiple Pulse Gun turrets with one Pulse Cannon emplacement. The Strahl has sufficient cabins, fully furnished, for every member of the crew plus three guests and a cabin to act as the infirmary for medical needs. Other facilities include a large cargo bay, secondary cargo storage rooms, a kitchen with pantry, and a dining area. Bartholomew "Balthier" Miedan Balthier Miedan is a former Royal Navy officer who has since turned to piracy and smuggling. Though an unapologetic smuggler, files on him indicate that his actual piracy is directed solely at other pirates, and more specifically those that behave in a fashion that clash with his own code of rogue-ish chivalry. He very much fits the image of a charming, swashbuckling rogue, particularly compared to the usual type of figure who operates in the criminal underworld. He captains, and flies, the Strahl. Umarbacca Umarbacca is a Bragulan who once served in a rogue Bragulan unit that made its living doing mercenary work in the Wild Space sectors. After the unit was tracked down and eliminated by the Bragulan Empire, Umarbacca was the only survivor by benefit of being rescued by Balthier. He has since served as the muscleman and first mate of the Strahl's crew. Vanrya Franela Vanrya Franela is from the Dorei nation of Daxai, a daughter of a local merchant house manager. She attended flight school with an eye toward joining the Royal Navy as a fighter pilot, but being caught up in a flight school accident as a result of someone else's negligence killed her admission to the Navy's Fleet Aviation School. After some time spent wandering and working odd jobs on the space ways, she was recruited by Balthier to be his navigator and co-pilot on the Strahl. Kaylee Keller Hailing from the Empire Star Republic, Kaylee Keller is considered one of the most skilled engineers in the Outback, with few in the region who can match her skill in maintaining an engine. She generally has a sweet and pleasant demeanor, though she is certainly not to be underestimated, as she is liable to surprise those who think of her as an innocent wench. She is generally considered to be the one responsible for cobbling together the Strahl's multi-phase hyperdrive to let it travel more easily through the shoals of the Outback and other regions of the known galaxy. Dr. Andrew MacCulloch A native Scotsman and proud of it, Dr. Andrew MacCulloch had a thriving medical practice as an immigrant to the United Solarian Sovereignty, until he made the mistake of spending more time tending to the lower-class victims of a car crash than the billionaire donor of the hospital he was gainfully employed at, who perished as a result of complications Dr. MacCulloch may or may not have managed to deal with. Fired and stripped of his medical license by a vengeful Solarian medical community while being sued into poverty by the donor's family, he ended up penniless, unable to even afford a ticket home, when he had a chance meeting with Balthier during a rather tight situation on Solaris. He has since found a home as the resident medical man on the Strahl, patching up the injuries that come from the activities of the adventurous crew. Quinn Leeson Quinn Leeson is an ESPer, trained in the fashion of the Chivalric Orders, once a member of the Order of St. Michael the Protector - the Catholic Church's organization for skilled ESPers willing to abide by the code of poverty, chastity, and obedience while acting to protect Catholic missionaries and communities in the seedy places of the known galaxy. As things went, Quinn was quite capable of abiding by his oath of poverty and chastity and willingly served his mission of protecting Catholics, but he was generally lacking in obedience, quarrelling with his superiors and acting on his own beliefs where he felt such was necessary. As a result, he was eventually called to leave the Order. Traveling the dark places of the galaxy with only his robes and his Dorei-fashioned beamsaber at his side, he came to the attention of Balthier during a pirate attack on a small community in the Outback and was invited to dwell on the Strahl. Leeson accepted, reluctantly, and lives with the smugglers, kept aboard primarily by the occasional "good deeds" the smuggler performs during his travels in the known galaxy. Marissa Moonbeam Marissa Moonbeam is of mixed Solarian and Shroomanian descent, a member of a long and "distinguished" line of Shroomanian nobility that, at one point, ruled a small state in the Nova Terran continent of Veleria. Her role on the Strahl's crew is generally doing whatever she is instructed to do by Balthier, whether it's helping Kaylee with engine maintenance, acting as a nurse for Dr. MacCulloch, or manning a gun turret in a sticky situation. Marissa is generally Shroomanian in tendency, which is to say she is terribly eccentric to the point of bewildering her crewmates, particularly Vanrya, and still follows the "Odinist" faith of her ancestors. Wild Space Gamma-Sigma information is classified TOP SECRET by CEID / the IBGV Kaiser Krieg A mercenary captain and a rather formidable combat psion. His moniker is almost certainly a codename, but none know what he is truly called - not even his motley band of Volkslander outcasts. They roam Wild Space for purposes currently unknown. The Badlands Warboss Nazdreg Nazdreg is a Blood Axe ork with a long, checkered career. This warboss shifts between the roles of arms dealer, pirate, and ground-based bandit as a matter of habit; the Umerian Foreign Intelligence Directorate has confirmed that he was responsible for several large weapon shipments to the rebels during the Independent Spinward Republic uprisings of 3391. At present, he operates from the planet of Nguyen's World, where he controls a force of somewhere between ten and twenty thousand "boyz," many of them well armed by orkish standards. His troops are highly mobile and often raid far from their core territory; his stronghold is heavily defended and is even rumored to be equipped with limited antiship artillery. Crew of Tranquility ]] Tranquility is a battered Glowworm-class transport held together by an exotic blend of spray sealant, space tape, and unconditional love. Like most of her class she is unarmed, but she is specially modified as a dual-drive craft with both Heim and hyperdrives, allowing her to operate much more freely in and around shoals than conventional hyperdrive starships. There are few outward signs of these modifications, making Tranquility an anonymous ship whose appearance can be altered easily to make identification difficult. Captain John Tamrin Captain John Tamrin is a veteran of the abortive Independent Spinward Republic movement, an attempted uprising by numerous planets on the Umerian fringe in 3391-92. The Independents, best known for their iconic brown longcoats, were ground down over a period of nearly eighteen months of hard fighting by the more numerous, better equipped, and often better coordinated Umerian space and ground security forces. Those battles left Tamrin both highly experienced and deeply scarred. Tamrin normally operates on the edges of the legitimate and black markets, alternating between strictly legal cargo flights and illegal salvage and smuggling runs as circumstances dictate. The captain is most noteworthy for his determination, protectiveness, and abysmal luck. The Expanse The Expanse is the widest section of shoals, and also one of the most barren. The few people who populate the barren rocks do not have much to offer the outside civilizations. Sorcerer Alfher An Eoghan Caller of rather tremendous strength, Sorceror Alfher has fought against the Power Rangers for many years and is wanted in enough of civilized space that he took to the Expanse. He now holds one of the Power Rangers as a servant and is working in secret with one of the major cults in Eoghan space to collect N'sss artifacts. The Veil of the Pfhor The Veil is the region of shoals separating the Pfhor Empire from the Holy Empire of Haruhi Suzumiya and other polities. It connects directly to Wild Space. The Empty Quarter The Empty Quarter is the region of shoals that separates the two halves of the Sultanate of Klavostan and is adjacent to the Ork home systems. The main hyperlane through here is known as the Malacca Straits and is protected by one of the most powerful space stations in known space, under Klavostani control. Off the well-patrolled main routes, however, the Empty Quarter is infested with Orks and the nomadic Woukou pirates, rumored to be descendants of the Japanistanis of Nova Terra. Warboss Migwazza Migwazza, formerly of the Badlands near Umerian/Shepistani space, decided to relocate his operations in mid-3400. Having been one of the few beings in living memory to make a profit by committing an act of "terrorism" (kidnapping for ransom) on Shepistani nationals, he decided not to push his luck, and put a comfortable margin of a few thousand light years between himself and any irritable retaliation-minded Sheppoes. Upon reaching the ork homelands, Migwazza fell in with the WAAAGH! that attacked Wolf 359, firing the first shots of the WAAAGH! and dropping an extremely large bomb that destroyed the MEH star destroyer Invincible Megadeath XVI. Migwazza specializes in fighta-bomba combat, and is an excellent pilot. He enjoys the support of a very capable Mek, who has provided him with a variety of advanced orky technology such as the super-WAAAGH-ic jet and the Squigwinda heat-seeking missile. The Former Outlands The region that had been the Outlander Commissions before its civil war and collapse has become an anarchic failed state with only very localized areas of civilization clinging to existence. A portion of the Outlands has since been claimed by the Refuge but many chaotic sectors still remain. Former naval elements of the Outlands have effectively become pirate warlords, and the megacorporations like Multi-Planetary United and others vie for unclaimed resources. Category:Character Information